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Classical Italy
See the best of Classical Italy with included visits to the world famous cities of Siena, Rome, Florence and Pisa. Marvel at the beautiful scenery of Lake Garda, Lake Maggiore and the Neapolitan Coast and join our optional excursion to beguiling Venice.
Itinerary
Please choose your preferred 12 day itinerary
Local departure by coach or Home Connect service, then we travel to northern France or Belgium for an overnight stay.
Continue south to our resort in the Lake Garda area for a three-night stay.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Spend time exploring the narrow streets of the old village or relax in one of the many cafés. We also see the ancient fortified town of Sirmione. This famous town is known for its beautiful views and relaxed atmosphere, and we’ll be able to take in its many sights. These include the 13th century Scaliger Castle, and the churches of Sant’Anna della Rocca, San Pietro in Mavino and Santa Maria Maggiore. Enjoy an optional cruise around the peninsula, which lasts approximately 30 minutes.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Included Highlights
- Lake Garda
Optional Excursions
-
Lake Garda Boat Cruise
The optional excursions will be available to book during your tour.
Prices are per person and are subject to change. Payment will be in Euros (cash payments only).
Today, Venice is an extraordinary city with lots to discover, from museums to art galleries, monuments to bridges, and everything in between. Some of the most famous places we’ll be able to visit at leisure while in the city include the Doge's Palace and the Clock Tower, as well as the Museum of Natural History and the Venice Academy Gallery. There’s also the Basilica di San Marco, the Bridge of Sighs, Rialto Bridge and the famous Grand Canal.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Optional Excursions
-
Venice
- 2025: £53.00pp
- 2026: £55.00pp
The optional excursions will be available to book during your tour.
Prices are per person and are subject to change. Payment will be in Euros (cash payments only).
We leave Lake Garda and pay a visit to charming Siena. With the city’s historical centre a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Siena is one of Italy’s most popular destinations and is famous for its beautiful attractions. We’ll explore its wonderful heritage and culture, and will get the chance to visit a number of its most popular sights at leisure. See the Piazza del Campo, one of the most famous squares in the world and where the famous horse race, the Palio di Siena, is run. Later, we head south to the Fiuggi area near Rome for a three-night stay.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Included Highlights
- Siena
Optional excursion to the Neapolitan resort of Sorrento, where you can spend the full day exploring at your leisure. Join our optional 'Taste of Sorrento' excursion, where you can combine your visit to Sorrento with a guided walking tour of the town and a visit to a Limoncello factory. Limoncello is made with lemon rind, water, sugar and alcohol and is one of the most popular digestifs in Sorrento.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Optional Excursions
-
A Taste of Sorrento
-
Sorrento
- 2025: £24.00pp
- 2026: £25.00pp
The optional excursions will be available to book during your tour.
Prices are per person and are subject to change. Payment will be in Euros (cash payments only).
To make the most of your visit, why not join our optional guided sightseeing tour. The sightseeing tour takes place on both coach and foot and will introduce you to the city’s wonderful sights.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Included Highlights
- Rome
Optional Excursions
-
Rome Guided Sightseeing
- 2025: £30.00pp
- 2026: £31.00pp
The optional excursions will be available to book during your tour.
Prices are per person and are subject to change. Payment will be in Euros (cash payments only).
There’s also the gothic Florence Cathedral and the Palazzo Vecchio. To get the most from your visit, join our optional guided sightseeing tour with local guide. The tour starts by coach and takes us up the hills behind the city, to Piazza Michelangelo. Here you can enjoy a magnificent panoramic view of the city and surrounding countryside. Once you have taken your photos the coach will take you back to the city, where your guide will lead you on a walking tour through the delightful streets of Florence, pointing out the major sights.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Included Highlights
- Florence
Optional Excursions
-
Florence Guided Sightseeing
- 2025: £25.00pp
- 2026: £26.00pp
The optional excursions will be available to book during your tour.
Prices are per person and are subject to change. Payment will be in Euros (cash payments only).
This morning, we head to the wonderful city of Pisa. We will see the ‘Field of Miracles’ the historic centre of the town and of course the famous leaning tower, where seeing really is believing, at the towers gravity-defying distance from the perpendicular! We’ll enjoy free time in the city to explore at leisure before continuing to Lake Maggiore for a two-night stay.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Included Highlights
- Pisa
Join our Optional excursion to the southern shores of beautiful Lake Maggiore and the lakeside town of Baveno, from where we board a boat for a short cruise out towards the picturesque Borromean Islands. The islands lie at the centre of the lake and are fine examples of natural beauty enhanced by landscaped gardens and parks.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Optional Excursions
-
Lake Maggiore
- 2025: £39.00pp
- 2026: £41.00pp
The optional excursions will be available to book during your tour.
Prices are per person and are subject to change. Payment will be in Euros (cash payments only).
To northern France for an overnight stay.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
Return home.
Included Meals
- Breakfast
Accommodation
You will stay for three nights at a 3-star hotel in the Lake Garda area such as the Hotel San Giorgio in Arco ; three nights at a 3-star hotel in the Fiuggi area, south of Rome; overnight at a 3-star hotel in the Montecatini Terme area, Tuscany; then two nights at a 3-star hotel on Lake Maggiore such as the Hotel Residence dei Fiori in Baveno or Hotel Intra in Verbania.
Overnight stays in northern France/Belgium will be in city-style hotels.
Hotel La Vela
The Club Hotel La Vela is situated only 200 metres away from the lakeside at Torbole and the resort’s numerous restaurants, shops and bars. The hotel a warm welcome and good cuisine and service. A walk of around 45 mins along the lake front takes you to the popular resort of Riva Del Garda, with its excellent shops and lakeside cafés and bars.Location: Via Strada Granda 2, 38069 Torbole,
Image Gallery
Hotel Facilities
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General
- English Speaking Staff
- 4 Star
- Guest Lounge
- Bar
- Restaurant
- Outdoor Swimming Pool (Seasonal)
- Lift
- Central Location
Room
- TV
- Hairdryer
- Extra Pillows and Blankets
- Safe Box
- Air Conditioning
- Fridge
- Non-Smoking Rooms Available
- Shower
- Telephone
Service
- Bureau de Change
- 24 Hour Front Desk
- Free WiFi (Public Areas)
- Iron at Reception
Food & Drink
- Vegetarian Meals
- Gluten Free Menu
Accessibility
- Wheelchair Access
Transport
- Bus Stop Nearby
Hotel
- English Speaking Staff
- Bureau de Change
- Guest Lounge
- Bar
- Restaurant
- Lift
- WiFi Available
Single Room Supplements
Single Room Supplement from £369.00
2025 is a very exciting and busy year for Rome due to the Pope’s Jubilee – this is something that happens every 25 years.
Across the year there is a calendar of special events specifically in and around the Vatican city and processions through the city which will generate more tourists visiting Rome.
For your holiday, our aim is to ensure our customers will get the best experience of Rome during this period.
The final itinerary and excursion content will be confirmed on your travel documents a couple of weeks prior to departure.
Thereafter there is still a possibility the excursion content / timings may be updated on-tour and hence it is recommended not to pre-book any local attractions.
Reviews
3.8 Out of 5 ( 12 Reviews )
Reviews
Quality
3.8 / 5
Value for Money
3.9 / 5
Andrew Webster, 1 year ago
This was our first family coach holiday and we (perhaps naively) didn’t anticipate just how much travelling would be involved. We knew there would be a lot – pretty much the first two days and the last two days of the holiday were entirely spent on the coach or in motorway services, but it was not clear just how much travelling there was inside the rest of the holiday as well. We missed the appointed ferry on the way out and therefore arrived very late at our first hotel in France, which was very basic, and then had to get up very early the next morning. This happened so often, late arrivals, late dinners and early starts that the holiday felt like more of an endurance test than a relaxing holiday. One couple left around Day 4/5! There seemed to be no slack built into the schedule for delays, either through traffic jams or getting lost around Pisa for an hour when the Sat Nav tried to send us through an old stone archway too small for the coach, and we consistently seemed to arrive about an hour later than we were originally told. Things came to a head for us on Day 5 when, after another late arrival at the hotel for dinner, we were told that the next day’s trip to Sorrento meant another 6am start. We just couldn’t face it and had to cancel the excursion (thankfully the drivers were fine about refunding us). The “day trip” to Sorrento was over 130 miles from our hotel in Fiuggi! That’s over 3 hours (with a stop) each way! Surely there were closer places that could offer an equally nice day out? And as for the 3- and 4-star hotels – either they were 3 or 4 stars 30 years ago and they’ve just held onto the rating or the Italian system is quite different to the UK’s! Several of the hotels also seemed to be trying to feed us as cheaply as possible, and most seemed ill-prepared for the vegetarians on the trip, despite having been told in advance. Having said all that, after we’d taken the day off instead of going to Sorrento and caught up with ourselves, we felt a lot better. We did see a lot of great places and I’m sure over time those memories are the ones that will stick with us, but it really shouldn’t have been such a slog. We felt like we needed another holiday to get over this one! Also, a tip if you’re still reading – try to avoid having to eat in Switzerland if you can. Four regular Burger King meals at their services cost us £80!
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Amanda Harland, 1 year ago
Hi enjoyed the classic Italy holiday very much a long time on the coach and early starts. The only disappointment was the Rome sight seeing walking tour with a guide which said she had a sore throat and you could not here her even when you stood next to her very disappointed thank you
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LF Chung, 1 year ago
This tour is amazing which covers many scenery spots. Lake Garda and Lake Maggorie are very beautiful and it is worthy to visit Florence, Sorrento and Venice. However, the hotels are too far away from the destination which caused long travelling time.
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Moira, 1 year ago
Saw all the beautiful places described, some far too briefly due to the many, endless hours spent on the coach. Drivers were really great. Hotels variable but generally adequate, as was the hotel food.
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Christopher Freeman, 1 year ago
Simple....far too much walking, coach drop off points too far. Had to get ubers into centres and sights. Hotels very poor, food...pork, pork and more pork, not Italian food. Put another 2 hours on travel times. Reims to Garda 15 hours. Took two g turn went over mountains. 23.30 evening dinner! While trip needs 3rd thinking. Will never use Shearings again. About to complain before writing on trip advisor to get their reaction.
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Theresa Armstrong, 1 year ago
Great to get to see so many places on one trip. This made the trip special for us. Worth saying that lots of time spent travelling in a coach. This gave lots of opportunity to unwind and relax although could be far too long for some. I enjoyed it but a busy action packed trip. The drivers were not a good combination together on our trip as clashed far too much but this was trip entertainment for some !!!
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